10 MW solar power at Robins Air Force Base

The Air Force has inked a deal with a company that plans to build a
50-acre solar array at Robins Air Force Base.

New Generation Power has signed a 20-year agreement to lease unused
property for the array, which will produce 10 megawatts of
electricity, according to a base news release. The company already
has signed an agreement with Georgia Power to purchase the
electricity produced.

James Willingham, 78th Civil Engineer Group deputy director, said he
expects construction will begin by September, and it should be
operational by January. It will be built on base property next to
Ga. 247 just south of the Museum of Aviation.

“It will look cool from the highway,” he said.

While the base will not be directly purchasing the solar power,
Willingham said it will count towards the base’s alternative energy
mandates because the power will be produced on the base.

Money from the lease payments will be used to further the base’s
renewable energy efforts, he said. The amount of the lease payment
will be based on the energy produced. Willingham said he isn’t sure
how much that will end up being, but it will be significant.

“It will be enough to sustain several follow-on energy
conservation projects,” he said.

Willingham said it also will help Georgia Power meet state
requirements that it use more renewable energy.

Oh, right: because of the 1973 Territorial Electric Service Act,
the power can only be sold to the local utility, which apparently
in this case is Georgia Power.